Last Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, I began my seventh decade on this planet, and coincidentally, my seventh year in the real estate business.
Wow! What to make of this?
One thing is sure, and gets more so the longer I live – there is always something to be grateful for.
It would be easy to look back at the past 12 months – the past nine in particular – and believe the world is coming apart at the seams. Tornado, pandemic, protests for racial equality, more pandemic, economic distress, isolation, and loneliness all around us. It seems like nothing but bad news since the middle of March.
And yet, I remain grateful. Here’s my 2020 list.
Family and friends
How sweet it is! I’ve got kids, sisters, cousins, and a host of great friends who love me. And I love them back. We support each other, feed each other, have a lot of drinks, have a lot of laughs. Now and then, we shed tears. Their presence means everything.
My job
I can’t say it often enough – real estate is the best job I have ever had. I get to work with all kinds of interesting clients, and all kinds of interesting houses, in all kinds of interesting neighborhoods, among all kinds of smart, hard-working realtors – both at Village and beyond. And I get paid to do this. Bliss!
A crazy-hot market
Despite the avalanche of bad news world-wide, Nashville’s residential real estate market continues to boom. Low interest rates, tight inventory, and thousands of newcomers make our market challenging and sometimes downright wild. But with determination and patience, the deals get done and buyers and sellers get what they need. Plus, there’s never a dull moment!
New political leadership
If any one good thing has come to us this year, it’s a change at the top. Regardless of political policy, it’s my hope that we will move out of a period of childish, hostile, divisive behavior and into a period of respectful discourse, inclusiveness, and common cause. No more adolescent name-calling and backbiting. No more racist dog-whistles, misogynistic “locker room talk”, homophobia, and immigrant bashing. No more working to divide Americans into “us” and “them.” We are all in this together, and I’m grateful for new leaders who will honor that principle and work to rebuild bridges.
You
And of course, I’m always grateful to everyone who takes the time to read these messages, try the cocktails, and send me comments.
That’s a lot to be grateful for!